My Creator Clash Experience: The Next Wave Of Boxing Fans

Creator Clash was an event that took place this past Saturday and was without question the most electric charity boxing event I've ever attended.

No hyperbole. This night will go down as the most electric event in charity boxing HISTORY. That isn't a hot take from me. Dr. Mike, Idubbbz, Justaminx, Dad, and other content creators came together to create one of the surreal crowds I've encountered that involved people getting punched in the face.

You won't find those names above on Boxrec since these fights were exhibitions for charity. The contests that will make that database were the bookend “walk-out” bouts. Speaking to both Fabian Andre Lopez Nieves and Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic before the fights took place, both hinted that they were looking to make statements and did just that in swift work. Lopez (5-0, 5 KOs) took on outmatched Rufino Lewis (1-2, 1 KOs) and systematically made Lewis live up to his “Baked Chicken” moniker. After three rounds of getting marinated by Lopez with shots, ref Chris Young ended this at the 2:40 mark in the third round.

Kalajdzic (27-2, 19 KOs), who faced Ernest Amuzu (26-7, 22 KOs) to close out the night, looked like he invited Amuzu over to play video games but gave him the controller that didn't work. Two quick knockdowns of Amuzu mercifully stopped this bout by referee Andrew Glenn at 1:16 of round one. Kalajdzic said he was looking for a Top 10 guy before the fight. Given the landscape at light heavyweight, he looked ready for better competition after this. May I throw in Hot Rod here in the Zurdo Ramirez hunt, given he likely isn't getting a title shot next up against Dmitry Bivol.

But those were the sanctioned bouts. Let's get to what everyone was there for, the content creators.

The Creator Clash Card: Boxing with A Positive Vibe

Rolling into the Yuengling Center to get that precious media credential on fight day, I noticed something I hadn't seen in boxing in a long time. A line to get inside the building. Typically, the usual ticket scalper is trying to block your way to the ticket counter, like playing Connect Four. Not for this event, which was a sell-out and at a capacity of 9,000. They got in, and once they started the event, the crowd legitimately didn't stop making noise until it was over.

Where's Marquis? #creatorclash#boxing@TheCreatorClash pic.twitter.com/URz79ErELR

— Marquis Johns (@weaksauceradio) May 14, 2022

It was legit deafening going on in the arena, and in the opener saw

Nathan Barnatt, known in the creative world as ‘Dad,' all but sonned Matt Watson in 22 seconds. Credit to Twitter user Aditya for calling it a speed run. Hindsight is always after the fact, but those 22 seconds got the event starting hot and didn't cool off all night.

"That was the fastest speed run I've seen in boxing"
– @MoistCr1TiKaL #creatorclash pic.twitter.com/DRUg1VlUp9

— Aditya (@MISwasTaken) May 14, 2022

Justamix, whose size and stature stood out in the ring when facing Yodeling Haley, was another highlight on the card. Her ring attire was designed by the same designer that created Logan Paul's Wrestlemania outfit and, more recently, Canelo Alvarez's outfit against Dimitry Bivol. Also, her stoppage win in the fifth round reminded Donagh Corby of the Daily Mirror, who sat next to me, of the atmosphere the historic bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano had. I'm severely underselling how raucous this crowd was all night. One of the loudest chants that repeatedly happened all night what the chant “Twist his dick,” which was blurted out all night, even during the women's fight between Justamix and Haley. That will read weird for sure. Just know that everyone in the arena was in on the bit.

“Twist his dick”

— Creator Clash (@TheCreatorClash) May 16, 2022

The main event between Dr. Mike and Idubbbz was the contest that had both fighters with the most training, with Idubbbz sparring with Shane Mosely Jr. for it, and Dr. Mike is well known for his training beforehand. Once the bell rang, it was all Dr. Mike as he was pretty much able to control the point of attack and time the movement up of Idubbbz all night. It was a pretty clear unanimous decision victory to close the night for Dr. Mike (50-45 x 2, 49-47). The only thing in question for it was the actual rounds. The entire card had five 2-minute rounds until the main event. The ring announcer, before the bell, stated it was four 3-minute rounds. Once the first round bell ended at 1:57, confusion ran amok until it was clarified that it was five 2-minute rounds.

Takeaways From Creator Clash

Photo Credit: Joseph Correa / FrontProof Media

Was the in-ring action world-class-level boxing? I can count the number of head feints I saw on my hand, but this wasn't about that (to their defense, the established fight veteran Amuzu didn't use much either). This event was a collection of popular content creators and their fanbase invested in whatever they do, coming together to create an unreal experience. Creator Clash co-creator Mike Leanardi agreed with me when I asked about it.

“Creator Clash was an incredible event! That was literally the loudest boxing crowd I have ever heard. The energy was incredible the entire night. The event did a lot of good, too, generating a lot of money for the supported charities,” Leanardi stated.

“Big thank you's to iDubbbz, his wife Anisa, Real Good Touring, OddSox Promotions, and TriStar Boxing. Without any of them, this wouldn't have been possible.”

There weren't any winners and losers at this event, except Amuzu and Lewis. Those pros will have to head to the drawing board and regroup. For everyone else, Creator Clash was a one-of-a-kind experience that turned a lot of first-timers into the sport of boxing. Boxing has been laboring since I've been covering it with the search for new casual fans to the sport.

Photo Credit: Joseph Correa / FrontProof Media

Creator Clash found an untapped market with this event that will catapult this into a boxing landscape. Regarding the pay-per-view sales of the Moment House event, I was informed the current tally is 100,000 buys for the initial event. Great turnout and even better support for all of this and those involved. The charities that will receive some of the proceeds include the American Heart Association, The Alzheimer's Association, and the Healing Horse Therapy Center, to name a few.

“Going to speak further with the team over the next week or two, but it's a no-brainer,” noted Leanardi about the prospects of Creator Clash 2.

Plenty of content creators out there to make this routine. A routine that was a successful fight event Saturday night and for future events to come.